Dr. Barbara Landau's comments on mediation for separating couples :

Most couples at the time of separation are concerned about their future. They are facing many changes in their life and want to preserve some sense of control and personal dignity. Especially if there are children, they want to maintain a cooperative relationship and minimize the emotional and financial consequences of the separation. Often they continue to care about the well being of the other person and do not want to foster an adversarial relationship.

Through mediation, I can assist couples to achieve their goals of working cooperatively and improving their ability to communicate, while problem solving the issues related to separation. I can offer professional input as to the needs of children at different developmental stages and guide them through the legal steps in reaching agreement on financial issues. The mediation process has as its goal a win/win outcome in terms of preserving the positive aspects of the relationship, arriving at a fair resolution of property and support issues, and protecting children from the devastating impact of a high conflict divorce. This happens in an efficient and cost effective way. The traditional adversarial system achieves the exact opposite as it is premised on winning by discrediting the other party.

I specialize in helping couples with children to develop personalized long term Parenting Plans that reduce acrimony and provide stability and consistency. My experience in both Psychology and Law enables me to focus on the best interests of your children, while assisting with the financial requirements of separation.

In my experience, mediation leads to agreements that last because they are reached voluntarily between the parties, without duress, and take into account the unique concerns and the creative input of both parties. Both short term concerns and long term objectives are addressed in customized Agreements for individual families. I work cooperatively with other professionals when their advice and valuation expertise is needed to minimize costs and maximize efficient information gathering.

Family business disputes, elder care issues, child-parent disputes common-law breakups and work place conflicts are some of the many mediation services offered by Cooperative Solutions.

See mediation for more info.